Mozart's queen reaches new audiences

Erin Windle

ALUMNI | It had been years since soprano Erin Windle, AS ’82, sang the part of the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute, but when she got a phone call about an upcoming movie based on the Mozart opera, asking her if she was still singing the role, she says she didn’t hesitate. “I went to the piano, hit a note and began singing” one of the most difficult parts of the role, she says. “I went back to the phone and said, ‘Yeah, I guess I’m still singing Queen of the Night.’”

That was in 2006, and the movie Magic Flute Diaries now is out on DVD; it was released last spring and won raves at several film festivals. Windle, who got the part after a screen test, says she found the process of filmmaking fascinating. The movie is the fictional story of a company that is putting on The Magic Flute, but it showcases significant portions of the opera itself. “It’s a whole different way of looking at opera,” Windle says.

With two school-age children, Windle says she continues to do some concert work but has stopped the time-consuming travel required to perform in operas. Most of her time now is spent giving private voice lessons to high school or college-age students from her home in Connecticut.